The oil market "is relatively in balance," Saudi Arabia's foreign minister Faisal bin Farhan al-Saud said, as the kingdom continues to brush off calls to produce more crude to bring down soaring prices.
Consumers' pain at the pump is the result of underinvestment in refining capacity, Prince Faisal bin Farhan al-Saud told the World Economic Forum in Davos, and supplying more crude will not relieve the tightness in gasoline and diesel.
"It's much more complex than just bringing barrels to the market," he said. "As far as we are aware, there is no shortfall of oil. The problem is refined products, which is something that is more connected to a lack of investment over the last year-and-a-half [to] two years in refining capacity."
